Wondering, Wandering, and Writing

“It can’t be that hard.”

Yeah, right.  Anyone who has done ANY little project around the house knows that it is ALWAYS more difficult or more time-consuming or generally all-around more frustrating than you originally thought it would be.

The list of waiting projects here is a little long.  One little task that hasn’t even made the list lately is to switch the dryer door so that it opens from the other side.

Yes, we knew when we installed the dryer that it was wonky.  You have to step past the door into the corner, open the door, and unload the clothes without really having room to stoop down and get the clothes from the back of the dryer.  These gyrations did not bother me for months, maybe a year or more.  But the last few months ….. every time I opened that door, I got a little more aggravated with the situation.  Did I tell my husband?  No, I did not.  Why didn’t I?  Well, it seemed so trivial compared to some of the other things we want done.

Then, today.  The boys are sick enough to stay home (fevers) but not so sick I need to have an eye on them every second.  And today, I decided I had opened that door in that direction for the last time.  Oh, by the way, hubby is working today.  Yes, on a Saturday.  People in maintenance get to do that on holiday weekends; it comes with the job – rebuilding equipment while everyone else is off work.  But I’ve digressed.

Anyway, how difficult can it be?  Seriously?  The holes are pre-drilled for installation to open from either side of the dryer.  All you need is a Phillips-head screwdriver, and I have that. I have one because it’s mine and I’m mean about it and if anyone borrows MY tools they put them back.  Period.  Even the husband. Ah, I’ve digressed again.

So, I take off the door.  That’s simple  Four little screws.  I remove the tape from the predrilled holes and put it over the holes where the door used to be attached.  I get a kid  to help hold the door in place while I put in the four screws.  I remember to move the latch on the dryer to the other side and use the cover plate to cover that little square hole. Wha-la!  Done!  I start to close the door and it won’t close.  MMMM … what have I done?  OH!  Silly me.  I left one of the screws only partially screwed in.  Fix that.  Door still resists closing past half-way.  Geez, what now?  Well ….. if only I had been as observation as I was tired of which direction the door opened, I would have noticed that in turning the door around so the hinges were on the other side, I also turned it upside down.  Not a problem at all from the front.  Oh, but the inside!  The bottom of the dryer opening is straight.  The top is curved.  And now, the part of the door that goes into the dryer a bit …. The top is flat and the bottom is curved.  Houston, I have a problem.

But everything is MADE to install it easily on either side.  I just have to figure it out. 

And I did.  I turned it this way and that and figured out the door is in two pieces.  In addition to the screwdriver, I needed a table knife to pry the two door pieces apart after removing half a dozen more screws.  Turned the pieces so they were 180 degrees from where they were and screwed them back together.  Then I saw, silly girl, that the latch on the door needed to be moved to the other side.  I used the knife to pop out the two-piece latch and the cover plate on the opposite side of the door.  Put them back where they needed to be. And ….. the door closed just fine.

And the clothes are drying.

Y’all have a nice day, now, ya hear?

#bgwww23